Just a Little Confusion
by QueenCheetah
Summary: Bakura's day started off so promising... for about five seconds. Now he's stuck trying to find his missing hikari while dealing with the strange child he found sitting on Ryou's bed. A child that looks just like Ryou. And acts just like Ryou. And speaks English just like Ryou. What an unsolvable mystery! A short (attempt at) humor- minor hints at Tendershipping and others.
1. Chapter 1

"Urgh..." The white-haired thief groaned out loud as he struggled to ignore that ever-early asshole, Ra. The sun god had a nasty habit of interrupting his semi-nocturnal schedule.

There was a faint gurgling noise from somewhere under the bedcovers, and the former spirit let out another grumble. Now that he was aware of how hungry he was, he couldn't fall back to sleep.

Cursing the blinding deity, he slugged out of bed and put on whatever clothes he could find. There were certainly plenty of choices strewn about the room. His hikari was always on him, trying to get him to keep it cleaner. Which was a load of bollocks- no one but Bakura (and sometimes the blonde morons) ever came in the guest/Bakura's room anyway.

With a loud yawn, the alabaster-toned yami walked into the hall. He headed downstairs to the kitchen to see what breakfast his former host had made. Halfway down the steps, he noticed a distinct lack of smells coming from the first floor, and was puzzled.

Ryou was normally kind enough to make something Bakura liked (meaning: meat).

Or perhaps he was just terrified of the possibility of Bakura trying to work the stove by himself.

Either way, there was usually _something_ for the carnivorous criminal to messily devour.

"Wha-?"

The former spirit of the ring glanced at the empty kitchen. No bacon, no sausage- not even that wood-chip-like crap Ryou called 'serial.'

Bakura was slightly unnerved- his previous/current landlord was _always_ up and moving around before him. He paused as he thought of a logical explanation. Was his hikari ill?

The yami ran into the living room and looked for another head of snow-white hair.

"Yadonushi?"

His coat was on the rack, so he couldn't have gone out- but then, where-?

Bakura froze- there was a weird sound drifting down from the second floor. His shoulders relaxed as he realized that it had to be his hikari. Of course- if he was indeed, sick, Ryou was probably still in bed.

The relieved (not that he would ever admit it) thief made his way casually up the steps towards his light's room.

There was another set of strange vocals, and Bakura felt his relief disappearing- why did they sound so high-pitched? He bounded up the remaining steps (at a pace which he refused to recognize as 'fast'). Without any warning, the thief suddenly opened the door to Ryou's room.

"Yadonushi? Oy, you sick or-" His voice gave out as his crimson eyes took in an unsettling sight.

Ryou's room looked as it always did- neat and studious- save for a tangled bundle of blankets on the bed.

It was from under these sheets that the unusual cries were emanating.

"Yadonushi?" Bakura felt slightly unnerved as he walked over to the mattress. He slowly pulled back the bedsheets.

There, underneath the pile of tussled covers, was a small figure. The Thief King blinked. It was a little boy. He was huddled over and letting out tiny whimpers.

Bakura stared blankly for a minute- his mind couldn't process what he was seeing. Was he still asleep? Was this some insomnia-tic delusion?

But then the distressed child started crying louder, and he realized that this was indeed, reality.

Bakura pointed an index finger and stated the first question that came to mind.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The small person turned to look up at the loud inquisitor. The child seemed to calm down when he saw Bakura's face, and his outcries lessened. His sniffling stopped as he stared up at the newcomer with a curious composure.

Meanwhile, Bakura was flabbergasted- where the hell had this thing come from?! But of course, the answer soon struck him.

After all, who else did he know that was deranged enough to kidnap some random brat...

The former spirit of the ring angrily found his cellphone and turned it on. Meanwhile, the little tyke seemed to have put off his crying, and was now roaming about the bed.

Bakura viciously stabbed at the phone's buttons, waiting to unleash his full fury on the pranksters.

A few rings later, a tired voice answered. "Ugh, h'llo? This is Malik..."

" _You damned Tomb Keepers! You think this is ****ing funny?! What the hell did you do?!_ "

"Bakura? yawn It's, like, 8 in the morning- why are you calling?"

" _Your Ra damned 'prank' isn't funny! Where the hell did you get this kid?!_ "

"Kid?" Half of Malik Ishtar's brain was still asleep, and the other half was very confused. "What 'kid'?"

" _This, this-_ _thing_ _!_ " Bakura pointed at the brown-eyed child, who was currently making a 'fort' out of the bedsheets and pillows.

"You found a _kid_? Weird- hey, Marik; wake up."

"5 more hours... snrrrkkkk."

"Yeah ok, he's out of it; but I'm pretty sure he didn't do this. I mean, he was with me all day yesterday. And we didn't go anywhere where there'd be little kids- wait, how old is this kid? Is he Japanese?"

" _I don't know!_ _"_ There was a pause as Bakura glanced over the possible toddler. _"_ _He's got white hair and brown eyes and pale... skin..._ "

The line went silent as both parties took in this information.

Malik spoke haltingly. "That's... that's Ryou."

" _Yes, except Ryou isn't three years old, or whatever this thing is._ " Bakura responded dryly.

"Well, he doesn't have any relatives besides his dad (and he's in Egypt)- who else could it be?"

" _Look, you b*stards, you're two of the_ very few _modern mortals who know about Shadow Magic. Now you'd better get your sorry selves over here or I swear to Ra I'll rip both-"_

"Alright, alright; we'll come over, sheesh. Hey Marik, wake up. Wake up. _WAKE UP!_ We gotta go to Ryou's house. No, we don't have time for breakfast- oh alright, I'll see if we have some bagels or something..."

An hour later, the doorbell rang at the Bakura household.

In the meantime, the baffled yami had managed to convince the child to abandon his 'blanket fort' and wait in the living room with him. The little tot seemed content to roam about the couch and chairs, occasionally playing with the decorative pillows. He was unusually quiet; only spouting a few random words. His voice was soft, and he spoke mainly in Japanese- although occasionally he murmured something in English.

When the doorbell rang, the boy jumped and ran to Bakura, who was bewildered by the reaction. The ancient thief walked to the front entrance, surprised to find the small child following him very closely.

Bakura immediately opened the door, revealing the Egyptian duo waiting on the front stoop. Maybe-Ryou kept hiding behind Bakura's pants legs, peeking nervously at the two dark-skinned teenagers.

The newcomers looked very foreign to Ryou. He tugged on the denim fabric to hide himself more.

Marik stared at the tiny hikari, then looked at Bakura, then back to the chibi. Suddenly, he gave a broad grin.

"Baka-thief and Ryou-hikari had a baby!"

Bakura made a strangled noise- when the three yami's had been brought back, Marik had lost some of his... _knowledge_ , to put it kindly. Something about his being 'born solely from the hatred and pain of a tortured mind and thus having to be cleansed of evil desires and intents before being returned blah blah blah' (Bakura didn't really give a crap).

Meanwhile, the other blonde just waved a hand up and down in dismissal. "Marik-honey, that's impossible."

Bakura snorted in agreement.

"Ryou has _wa_ _aa_ _a_ _y_ better taste than that!"

The thief's left eye began twitching, and a vein on his forehead pulsed. Meanwhile the mystery child had taken a very cautious step forwards away from Bakura (while still holding onto his jean's fabric).

Marik knelt down and expertly balanced on his heels. Possibly-Ryou stared uneasily at the very large man.

Marik took off one of his many golden bracelets and showed it to the chibi. The little boy's eyes widened at the shiny pretty thing; and he stared hopefully as the man held it in front of him.

"You can have for today, okay?"

Could-be-Ryou paused, then nodded with a shy smile. He stepped forward and took the bracelet. Then he very politely whispered, "Tank ooo."

Malik couldn't resist crying out. "Ra, he's so darn _cute_!"

Ryou jumped and ran back behind Bakura's legs.

Surprisingly, it was Marik who understood Perhaps-Ryou best.

"Malik-lovely, you will scare him. Have to be nice, yes? Ryou-baby is very shy."

But Bakura was in no mood for Marik's child-rearing advice. "Get in."

Likely-Ryou sat for a good ten minutes, just playing with the beautiful shiny thing that the spiky-haired man had given him. The way he saw it, there was the nice spiky-man (because of his wild, golden hair), the scary look-alike man (because of his loudness), and the big grumpy man (because he was always frowning).

The grumpy man looked like he might be family, but Ryou didn't remember ever seeing him before.

Meanwhile, the three Egyptians tried to figure out how to handle the situation. They sat down in their usual seats in Ryou's living room and began discussing the young newcomer.

Malik put a hand on his chin bemusedly. "Hmm, we need to call someone... who knows about kids?"

Marik quickly spoke up. "What about brown-head girl?"

Bakura shivered in disgust. He would rather call Seto Kaiba for childcare advice than to ask the Pharaoh's nosiest cheerleader.

But thankfully, Malik shot that idea down. "Nah, I think Anzu's out of town- something about a dance troupe. Anyway, forget calling one of Yugi's friends; why don't we ask Ishizu? She practically raised me."

Bakura snorted. "Oh yes, and you turned out _so_ well."

"Hey!"

Marik started laughing uproariously while Bakura smirked. Malik stuck out his tongue but didn't reply; he only pulled out his cell phone and dialed.

"Hi Ishizu! Huh? Oh, no; everything's fine- well, mostly fine- ...I think. Eh? What? Oh, not really- besides; Ryou bought a new fire extinguisher last week, so we're all good. No, I'm calling about something else entirely- how much do you remember about taking care of a toddler?" Malik frowned. "No, I'm not talking about Marik."

This time it was Bakura's turn to laugh while the other yami sulked.

"Uh-huh. So don't let him- ok- yeah, I think we can do that- alright, see you later, sis." Barely a minute passed before Malik hung up. "She says she'll be over in an hour- she's finishing up some papers for the museum."

Since moving to the Japanese city, Ishizu had taken to supporting the family by taking a job at the Domino Museum of History. It was a task that she very much enjoyed; and her impressive knowledge of ancient Egypt quickly made her one of the most respected curators on staff. Unfortunately, though, that status meant that she had more obligations- some of which required the occasional overtime shift.

While the 'adults' talked, the tiny Ryou-clone continued looking around the room; occasionally inspecting various objects on the coffee table and the bookcases. He was fairly quiet, and didn't really seem too concerned with the larger men (although Bakura noticed that he seemed to avoid Malik- a habit Bakura himself retained).

But when the former spirit leaned forward to reach the remote on the coffee table, he caught the pale boy's eye. The tot walked over to the other side of the table and looked upwards. He stared curiously at the frown-y man. Bakura stared back, his face level with the minute Maybe-Ryou.

The tomb robber had no idea what to do with the mysterious miniature, and he frowned. "What?"

Malik watched the interaction with utmost curiosity. He then spoke (rather kindly) to the little newcomer. "That grouchy guy is called 'Bakura.'" He pointed a bronze finger towards the scowling yami. "Do you know him?"

Two tiny, cocoa-brown eyes looked thoughtfully at the former spirit's face. The moody man didn't blink.

Suddenly, two petite hands reached out and grabbed the edges of Bakura's mouth.

"Hey! What-"

"Miles."

"Eh?" The ancient outlaw was slightly irritated by the pale hands pulling on his lips.

The small boy began tugging the thief's mouth upwards. "Miles."

"I think he wants you to smile, Bakura." Malik snickered.

The grumpy tomb raider stared at the mini-Ryou. "I don't 'smile.'"

"Bu' why?"

"Because I don't like to smile."

Possibly-Ryou thought for a moment before replying firmly.

"No."

"Eh?" Bakura's infamous eye twitch had returned.

"No. Miles." The little one kept trying to push the frustrated thief's face into a grin.

Bakura was bewildered by the kid's insistence. Meanwhile, Malik sniggered behind his hands. "For Ra's sake, you stubborn tomb robber; just give the kid a friggin' smile already!"

Bakura glared at the bronzed blonde but admitted defeat. He rolled his eyes and gave a very faint, tentative smile.

The chibi-Ryou gave a broad grin and suddenly hugged the man's shin. "'Kura miles!"

Bakura was shocked by the reaction, but his favorable surprise was soon tainted by Malik's laughter.

"Looks like Ryou likes it when you smile, ' _Kura_!"

The thief groaned- he just knew that damn nickname was going to stick.

Not long after Malik and Marik were (for the most part) done teasing the other yami, there was another ring on the Bakura household doorbell.

Apparently Ishizu had stopped by a specialty store and picked up several things for Ryou- a blanket, a teddy bear, some toddler-friendly food, and a coloring book set.

"Forgive my lateness, but we do not have many child-care supplies in our new house."

The exotic lady smiled when she saw the diminutive duelist.

"Hello, Ryou. Do you remember me? I am called Ishizu."

The boy gave her a curious glance, but his eyes soon drifted down to the tawny teddy bear in her hands.

"So, he is Ryou?" Malik tilted his head questioningly.

Ishizu gently handed the stuffed toy to the thrilled child. "Oh, the little one is Ryou, alright. There is no mistaking his gentle energy." Ishizu nodded quietly. "The real question is, how did he become a child?" She gave Bakura a composed glance. "You say that he was in this form when you awoke?" The faint-skinned yami nodded tersely.

"All right." The Egyptian woman stepped gracefully into the hall. "Perhaps you should detail everything that has happened so far today."

As the others explained, Ishizu chose a spot on the living room couch. She soon guided the confirmed hikari up on the cushion next to hers. Ryou sat happily near her lap, gently hugging the soft teddy bear.

Bakura described everything he knew about the strange chibi-fication of his hikari- which wasn't much. Ishizu nodded placidly as she took in the little information.

"I see... this is most puzzling."

"So, what do we do?" Marik sounded rather untroubled by the whole ordeal- Ryou might be funnier as a grown-up human, but this little creature was interesting.

Ishizu seemed more conflicted. "He is not in any danger- this is not a harmful curse of punishment. Rather, this is more of a spell than a curse. It was probably meant to help someone, although I am not certain who or how. Regardless, it should not be hard to break once we find the counter-spell."

She looked thoughtfully down at the tiny tot. His wide, chocolate-tinted eyes were full of delight as he glanced upwards at the generous lady. Ishizu gave him a kind smile before returning to her thoughts.

"Aside from our family, the only two I know of with ties to the ancient kingdom's magic are-"

"The damned Pharaoh and his brat." Bakura spat the titles out like spoiled water. Ishizu gave the pale Egyptian a warning glance, but the irreverent thief just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, well; I cannot say for certain if they were involved; however, it might prove a good place to start. Malik, do you have Yugi's cell phone number?"

The slighter of the dark-skinned duo gave an abashed grimace. "Yeah... erm, I accidentally erased it last week... but I think I still have the game shop's main line- hang on."

There was the soft beeping of numbers being pressed, and Malik held the phone to his ear.

 _ring! ring!_ _click!_ "Hello, Kame Game Shop! How can we add some fun to your day?"

" _Greetings, Mr. Motou! Are Yugi and Yami home? This is Malik Istar- I need to speak with them."_

"Hello there, Malik- I'm sorry, but Yugi and his partner are out of town for a tournament in Shikoku. They should be back sometime tomorrow after 3. Can you call back then?"

" _Ok- thanks! Bye!"_

Malik hung up and quickly repeated what he'd been told. "Yeah so it's gonna be a while until they get back."

Bakura was struggling not to swear- _of course_ that Ra-damned Pharaoh would be gone right when he actually had a need for the useless s-

His string of internal expletives was broken by the same loud voice.

"-but, maybe Ishizu can find something in one of her books?"

The former holder of the Millennium Necklace nodded her head, her eyes closed in thought. "Yes, I will try to see what I can find written in the ancient scriptures. I do not recall any spells designed to result in this... situation, but I know of some books which may help. I shall look through them later tonight. But now..." She stood up and glanced at the three. "I must head home soon. Can I trust you to take care of little Ryou for tonight?"

Bakura nodded rather stiffly, but Malik actually seemed annoyed. "Geez, Ishizu; you think we can't handle a baby?!"

The oracular tomb keeper gave an unusually wry grin. "Given the... memories I have of your own childhood, brother; I believe there is only one thing I can say-" she turned at the door frame and gave a last glance over her shoulder at the three, "-'good luck'."

The door closed with a rather ominous thud as the three Egyptian villains were left to handle the (apparently teenaged) toddler.

...right on cue, Ryou began crying.


	2. Chapter 2

"Crap!"

Bakura jumped when the tiny hikari started wailing.

Malik quickly shoved his face in the child-hikari's. "Ryou, why are you crying? Are you hurt?"

The boy shook his head 'no' but didn't let up.

Marik abruptly hopped off the couch and began crawling on the floor. Before Malik could comment, the chibi suddenly stopped wailing.

Bakura had moved ( _not_ quickly and definitely _not_ with concern) to look over the crying kid.

Ryou rubbed his cocoa-tinted eyes as he gazed up at the other pale duelist. He blinked in calm curiosity while the ancient outlaw tried to detect any injuries.

"Huh. Seems he likes you, Bakura. Ra knows why- maybe you remind him of the Blizzard Princess- does he own that card?"

"F*** off, Malik!"

"Bakura! You can't just talk like that in front of an infant!"

"Firstly, he's not an infant. Secondly, he has no way of knowing what I'm saying."

Ryou looked up thoughtfully and mumbled a new word. "Puck?"

"...crap."

Marik suddenly yelled, his voice muffled by the couch. "Found it!"

Malik turned to see another blonde head moving away from the sofa bottom. "Eh? Found what?"

The tallest Egyptian grinned as he pulled out a (slightly dusty) teddy bear from under the couch.

"It fell when Ryou was waving bye-bye to Ishizu-sis!"

Ryou gleefully grabbed the bear, but suddenly paused. His face contorted and he closed his eyes.

"Keh-choo!"

The polite child covered his mouth when he sneezed, but doing so made him drop the toy again.

Bakura quickly grabbed the (slightly less dusty) plush and held it out to the chibi.

"Here."

Ryou paused, and his expression turned rather shy. He gratefully took the toy and whispered a few words of gratitude. "Tank ooo, 'Kur-." But his tender face suddenly twitched, and before he could finish another word he gave another sneeze, followed by a cough.

Malik noticed the large accumulation of dust on top of his yami's head, and figured out the reason for the sneezing fit. "Ryou? Would you like a drink?"

The tiny tot nodded, and the strange group headed into the kitchen for a quick snack. Malik was just wondering what young Ryou would drink (would he still like tea?) when he noticed something unnerving.

" _ **Bakura**_?! What the hell are you doing?!" Malik yelled at the white-haired deviant.

Bakura didn't flinch. "Getting a cup." He grabbed a plastic cup from the cabinet and inspected it. "Apparently he can't drink from a can." He nodded his head towards the kitchen table, where Ryou was patiently sitting on a chair... with a fresh, open can of beer right in front of him.

"Are you a nuts?! You can't give a baby _**beer**_!"

The thief shrugged. "Why not? It's healthy for them, right?"

Malik frowned and folded his arms. "This isn't Ancient Egypt! That stuff's a hell of a lot stronger!" The blonde swiped the can off the table and held up the drink's label. "And it's _NOT_ healthy! Don't you remember how sick _you_ got the first time you went drinking?! Imagine if that was Ryou!" Malik pointed at the bewildered toddler.

Bakura froze, a feeling of dread crawling up from his memories. Yes, he remembered how he'd discovered the massive difference in alcohol contents... he'd been violently ill the morning afterwards. The alcohol of modern times was certainly different from the weak ale of Ancient Egypt...

The thief immediately turned to grab the can- but to his shock, it was already gone.

"Wait, what happened to the can?" The two shorter Egyptians quickly scanned the room. Bakura felt his stomach drop as he ran to Ryou. But before he could examine the kid, Marik let out a loud burp and tossed away the empty can.

Bakura relaxed his shoulders and Malik gave a sigh. "Mystery solved."

The bronzed yami only shrugged at the other two. "What? Ryou can't drink nows, but Marik can, yes?"

Bakura growled warningly. "Malik... if your psychotic alter-ego gets drunk..."

But the thinner blonde waved a hand, as if to banish Bakura's concerns. "Relax, he's not going to get plastered from _one_ can."

There was the sound of someone rummaging through the fridge, and Malik jumped.

The Thief King sneered. "Oh, but eleven more should be fine?"

"Marik! _No!_ You can't get drunk again- remember what Ishizu said?!"

Marik stopped instantly and gave a shudder of fear. "No... not the dark muffins!"

Bakura decided not to bother decoding the blonde's nervous rantings. "Then what the hell am I supposed to give it?"

"First of all, that's still _**Ryou**_ \- and he's a 'he,' not an 'it'! Secondly, you give little kids milk or juice."

Marik helpfully dove back into the fridge. "Here is milk, hikari-love!"

Soon little Ryou was comfortably seated on top of an extra cushion, happily sipping milk from a small, plastic cup. Malik ended up turning on the coffee maker for Bakura and himself (Marik was rarely allowed caffeine). The machine soon signaled that it was ready, and Malik poured two steaming mugs. Unfortunately, the blonde tripped slightly as he carried the drinks to the table. A very large splash of burning-hot java managed to land right on Bakura's arm, scalding the surprised tomb robber.

Bakura grabbed his arm and began cussing loudly. "Motherfu-!"

Marik quickly put his hands over Ryou's ears while Malik chastised the thief.

"Bakura! We just went over this- you can't swear in front of a toddler!"

The fiend hissed as he rubbed a napkin over the burned area. "The hell not!?"

Marik continued covering the two tiny ears as the other Egyptians argued back and forth.

"Because he could pick it up and start saying it himself!"

The pale yami growled, but didn't retort. Marik uncovered Ryou's ears as Bakura finally stopped swearing. Instead, the former spirit had started rubbing the injured area. A tiny face was following his motions with interest. The chibi-fied Ryou watched Bakura's actions. No one spoke.

Finally, the miniature hikari couldn't contain his concern any longer.

"Better?"

The tomb robber raised an eyebrow at his mini-light. "What?"

Ryou lifted up his hands towards Bakura's arm. Confused, the thief slowly lowered his right limb so that the little hands could touch it.

Ryou held the arm out and proceeded to stare over the injured spot intently- it was red, but not quite burned. He blinked, then tenderly smooched the red skin.

Bakura's eyes widened as the tiny hikari looked up at him with a big smile.

"Better?"

Malik started chuckling and nodded. "Yes, that was very good. Bakura will be 'better' faster now."

The minute duelist let out a happy squeal before turning back towards his milk cup.

The bewildered thief blinked. "What."

"Geez, Bakura, haven't you ever been around kids? When they get an injury, their mother 'kisses' it better."

"First of all, that makes no Ra-damned sense. Secondly, why the hell would I want to be around kids?"

The former tomb keeper folded his arms in annoyance. " _You_ were a child once, right?"

"Yes; well, unlike some of us, that wasn't exactly yesterday." The former spirit sneered and pointed mockingly at Marik (who was furtively trying to make coffee without the machine- so far all he'd managed was some soggy cocoa beans in a mug). "You'd be surprised how much you forget over the course of several millennia."

The group managed to finish their beverages in relative peace (Marik did start to choke after he tried to drink the waterlogged beans). They gradually migrated to their usual spots in the living room- Malik and Marik taking up the sofa, Bakura claiming his favorite armchair, and Ryou sitting between them. Although this time, Ryou was actually on the floor, as he couldn't quite reach the other armchair. Marik thoughtfully grabbed the blankets and pillows from the surrounding furniture and laid them out for the chibi. Ryou seemed quite content to roll around with Marik's bracelet and the teddy bear, making nonsense noises and occasionally voicing snippets of stories.

Malik began amusing himself by taking photos of the mini-hikari with his cell phone. He soon had pictures of Ryou coloring, playing with the bear, and just being adorable in general.

The group eventually decided to turn on the television, but much to Bakura and Marik's dismay, Malik insisted that they not watch anything 'too vulgar or frightening.'

"Ryou likes this movie!" The frustrated thief argued. There was a screech of terror from the TV speakers as a teenaged girl was torn limb from limb by the mutant axe-murderer.

"As an _adult_ , yes- but kids get scared easily. He could have nightmares from this stuff!" Malik seemed oblivious to the fact that toddler-Ryou was, indeed, watching the gory horror film without any repulsion or fright. Instead, the blonde made Ryou sit patiently while he and the others went upstairs to Ryou's bedroom.

"Here, hang on- I know Ryou has some old kid's movies in his collection..."

After a short dig through Ryou's closet (which Malik seemed unnervingly comfortable dissembling) the triumphant tomb keeper held up several classic children's films.

"We'll put these on- they'll distract Ryou while we figure out why he's a toddler." The Egyptian trio soon returned downstairs, and Malik slid a dusty tape into the living room's VCR. Ryou was quickly distracted by the animated features, and the three (semi) adults began discussing the odd situation at hand. They managed to 'borrow' Ryou's laptop, as well as several books from Ryou's father's collection, and spent their time digging through whatever sources sounded promising.

"I don't know why your sister is so quick to defend that Ra-damned Pharaoh- who else could've done this?" Bakura declared gruffly.

A voice suddenly drifted up from the floor in front of the screen. "Oo Gwumpy."

"Eh?" Bakura stared at the other fair-skinned duelist.

"Oo Gwumpy dwarph." The innocent toddler pointed to the television.

Marik started snorting in amusement.

Bakura was baffled until he heard the animated characters on the screen talking. Sure enough, there was a dwarf called 'Grumpy.'

The thief scowled. "That's not me."

Malik was chuckling now, too. "Hahaha! I dunno, Bakura- short, white-hair, bad attitude- you're pretty close!"

"Shuddup."

The three Egyptian adults continued their search through their various resources, but could not find anything that related to the sudden age-reversal of a normal boy. Bakura and Malik were starting to feel anxious- this was a very unusual spell, and apparently a solution wasn't going to just appear.

While the adults were talking, Ryou was again given the coloring book to keep him busy. He soon ran up to the four adults and handed a sheet of coloring-paper to the white-haired man.

"For ooo."

"Erm, thanks." Bakura took the picture. Ryou smiled happily before running back to the crayons.

Bakura eyed the unclear scribbles. "What is this?"

Malik frowned. "I have no idea."

But Marik snorted in superiority. "Is Bakura-baka- see? White for hair, tan for skin, black for clothes."

Malik blinked at his boyfriend. "How the heck did you figure that out?!"

Marik shrugged. "Kids draw stuff they like. Know kid, know what they draws."

The pale thief paused. _'Like?'_ _The hell does that mean?'_ But before he could ponder it any further, there was a loud noise from one of Malik's many pants pockets. He expertly fished out his cell and answered it.

"Hello? Oh, hey sis- eh? Oh, sure; hang on..." There was a series of *beeps*, and suddenly Ishizu's voice drifted out of the speaker.

" _My brother, I'm afraid there is a rather serious problem. I have just realized that one of my books is missing- 'Those Who Praise the Dawn of the Moon.'"_

The Thief King's eyes lit up- he knew of this book, and had tried to find it eons ago. His face broke into a devious smirk- if that book was really here...

" _It is a reasonably powerful spell book- however, the pages are almost all gone."_

Marik tilted his head to one side. "Gone?"

" _Missing or destroyed over the centuries."_

Bakura's grin faded.

" _That is why it was not strongly protected- it is rare to find those today who are still able to recant the words of our ancestors; much less those who can call upon the shadows to breath life into them."_

Malik nodded thoughtfully. "So, would that book have the spell to turn Ryou into a teenager again?"

" _If any book in my possession holds such a spell, that one would most likely be it. But I am baffled as to when or why it was stolen..."_

Both Malik and Marik turned to look suspiciously at the former Thief King.

Bakura scowled and defensively folded his arms. "I didn't even know she _had_ it!"

" _No, I do not believe the Thief King stole this book- whoever took it was quite amateurish. They did not even take the companion text, 'Those Who Praise the Setting of the Sun-'"_

Bakura's grin returned.

" _-which I've since locked up in a special, hidden section of the Domino Museum Security Storage."_

Bakura's face fell flat, and the two blondes held back their snickering. The former spirit was not amused. "So what the bloody hell are we supposed to do, then?"

" _It seems the only thing we can do now is await the return of the Pharaoh and his partner. We must hope that one of them holds the answer."_

The three duelists exchanged dark glances- they weren't exactly fond of relying on the Pharaoh or Yugi.

" _I must go- I need to contact Odion and find out if he remembers anything unusual... brother, if you and Marik could_ _head_ _home soon, that would be appreciated; it will be getting dark before long. And Bakura..."_ Here she seemed to pause. _"Do be sure to take good care of young Ryou. See to his needs, and make sure he gets lots of rest- young children tire easily."_

The thief nodded, his face somewhat stern.

"We'll leave in a few minutes! See you soon, sis!" Malik hung up the phone and grabbed his darker half. "Alright Marik, we gotta get going-" he turned to look at the confused toddler, "-but we'll see you guys tomorrow, ok? You behave for Bakura now!"

Just as the two turned to leave, Ryou raced forward with a tiny cry.

"Way!"

He held Marik's bracelet in his hands, and he lifted it up in offering to the man.

Bakura was rather impressed with the child's action. _'_ _Wow_ _, he remembered what_ _Marik_ _said earlier...'_

The man smiled and gently patted the boy's white hair. "Little Ryou can keeps it. Marik has many more, see?"

The boy's eyes shined with delight and he started dancing around with the gleaming treasure. He was still gleefully playing with the jewelry after the two dark-skinned duelists left. It kept him distracted while his yami managed to make a (basic) finger-food dinner for the two of them. They had both finished their sandwiches (Ryou had also been given a vegetable mix from Ishizu's parcels) just as the sun started to set.

It wasn't long until Ryou began yawning intermittently. It was only half-past eight, but Bakura remembered Ishizu's advice from earlier.

"Alright, bedtime, runt."

Ryou happily followed his yami up the stairs, but he refused to go into his room before brushing his teeth and washing his face. This amused Bakura to no end- even as a child, his landlord was absurdly dedicated to his hygiene.

It was just around nine in the evening when Bakura helped mini-Ryou get settled in his full-sized bed. He pulled back the cerulean-shaded sheets and draped the azure-colored comforter back over the tiny tot.

Thinking his help was no longer required, the former spirit of the ring started back towards the hallway. He was stopped by an unusual plea.

"Stowee!"

"Eh?" The ancient thief was still trying to decipher the word when he saw Ryou's gaze. The little boy was staring at him eagerly, and he had one tiny hand pointing to the bookcase across the room.

 _'Oh, a **story**... right... kids like to be read stories before they sleep...'_

There were a few worn children's books on the middle shelf; leftovers from Ryou's childhood. Of course, the aging books were all in English.

Which Bakura wasn't the most literate in.

...cr*p.

Ryou was still looking up at him expectantly. Bakura sighed and tried to think of something from back in his original lifetime. He quickly pieced together an old fable he'd heard.

"Uh, 'Once upon a time, there was a scorpion. He came to a wide river, which he could not cross. So he asked a frog if he would hop across the river with the scorpion on his back.

But the frog said, 'No, you'll sting me.' But the scorpion promised not to hurt the frog.

So the frog finally agreed, but as they were half-way across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. The frog cried out, 'Why would you do that? Now we're both going to die!'

But the scorpion replied saying, 'I can't help it- it's in my nature.'"

Bakura paused, only to find chibi-Ryou looking on the verge of tears.

 _'Crap-crap-crap- think of a happy ending! Quick!'_

Bakura held out his arms in a pacifying manner. "Erm, but then a nice fish gave the frog a hug, and the frog got better. And they all lived happily ever after."

Ryou blinked.

"Er, the end?"

"-orpy?"

"Huh?"

"Scorpy?"

"Oh. Yeah, and the scorpion was fine too." A very faint smile drifted across the storyteller's face.

' _Only you would think about_ _the_ _scorpion...'_

Ryou smiled and laid back down against the pillows. Bakura saw him relax and started to get up.

"-issie!"

"Eh?"

Ryou pointed to his forehead and pouted. "-'issie!'

 _'_ _Ra, why couldn't this kid just talk?!_ _'_

The former spirit stared blankly. "Your forehead. You have a headache?"

The little boy shook his head, looking annoyed.

"ISS. EEE" He stuck out his lips in a mock smooch.

" _Erk!_ _"_ Bakura froze. He didn't know much about little kids, but he'd seen enough modern television to know what Ryou wanted.

"Um, r-right. Er, how about tomorrow?

"-Issie!" This time Ryou sounded upset. His lower lip trembled and his wide eyes looked wet.

'Oh crap...'

Incredibly embarrassed, the once-ancient spirit knelt down and quickly touched his lips to Ryou's forehead. If those two blonde cretins ever found out about this...

But Ryou giggled, and pulled the blankets around himself like a little cocoon. "G'nigh."

In spite of himself, Bakura gave the faintest grin. "Yeah, 'night shrimp."


	3. Chapter 3

It was around two in the morning when a sharp cry suddenly rang throughout the Bakura household.

" _WAAAAAAAAHHHH!"_

" _ **HOLY**_ -!" The former Thief King cursed as he fell to the floor. The screams that had woken him sounded oddly high-pitched. He was completely lost, until he remembered what had happened to his 'host.'

"Oh, _crap_..." Bakura flew down the hall, flying into his hikari's bedroom. "Ryou?!"

The boy was quivering underneath the blankets, just like Bakura had found him the previous morning. The alarmed thief moved over to the bed. "Ryou, what's wrong?!"

Chibi-Ryou didn't crawl out from under the covers- instead, he whimpered just one word:

"Nighmare."

"Nigh- nightmare? Oh, you had a bad dream." The former spirit rubbed the back of his head before shrugging awkwardly. "Right. Well, go back to sleep, I guess." Bakura stood up to leave when he felt a tiny hand tugging on his shirt.

"Way!" Ryou finally let the bed covers slip off his small frame. He was still shaking and his eyes were watery. "Don' go."

The thief sighed and reluctantly sat down on the bed next to his tiny hikari.

"So, what was the dream?"

The doe-eyed child whimpered again. "I'z not nice dream. I'z all dark, an' flying red monster from the sky screams an' it hurts."

It wasn't often that the scourge of Ancient Egypt felt guilty; yet he felt a sharp twinge of regret somewhere in his chest at those words. "Ah. Well, dreams can't hurt you, so you're not in danger... you'll be fine." The former villain moved to stand up, only to find that his hikari still had a good grip on his shirt. Bakura then made the mistake of turning and looking directly into his light's eyes.

The wide, tearful orbs seemed to plead wordlessly with the yami. Bakura soon felt more of that disgusting emotion he'd recently re-learned. Silently cursing his empathy, he relaxed his weight back on the mattress.

"Whatever... you're always complaining that I'm 'nocturnal' anyway." He leaned backwards, allowing his back to rest against the wall. Ryou's new body barely took up half the bed, and the thief managed to pull his legs up in a half-seated position. He folded his arms and watched as the tiny innocent slowly drifted back off into a deep slumber. Soon chibi-Ryou was snoring softly. Bakura couldn't resist making a faint 'hmph' noise in the back of his throat- if the twerp could fall back to sleep that fast, then why the hell did he even need the former spirit there in the first place?!

The sun rose with all of its usual brilliance; only this time its light fell upon two resting forms. The larger body was still resting with his back against the bedroom wall. There was a low grunt, and two crimson-tinged eyes reluctantly blinked opened. The groggy tomb robber scowled as he felt his neck crack- he didn't mean to actually fall asleep like that! Bakura grumbled to himself as he carefully made his way to the edge of the bed. It seemed that his tiny hikari had slept peacefully for the rest of the night, at least. But apparently Ryou felt the shifting of the mattress, because the fair-haired child was soon up and brushing his teeth.

Thankfully, chibi-Ryou was still fond of 'serial', so breakfast was a fairly simple affair. The little boy happily slurped down a bowlful of rainbow-tinted loops while Bakura grabbed his cell phone. It didn't take the pale yami long to learn the current plan, and he soon hung up. Ryou was just trying to dab away the milk drips on his chin when he noticed the 'Grumpy dwarf' returning.

"Right." Bakura pointed one finger at the bewildered tot. "So it seems the blonde dimwits are meeting Yugi at the game shop around noon. So we need to leave soon- go it, runt?"

Ryou blinked his overly-large eyes in polite curiosity. The ancient outlaw nearly groaned- he wasn't sure what was going to fix this mess, but if that damned Pharaoh didn't have the answer...

Suddenly a pair of petite hands lifted up towards the frustrated tomb robber.

"Up?"

The former spirit sighed and hefted the kid up in the air. The boy giggled gleefully.

Bakura relaxed ever-so-slightly. The chibi's laughter was adorable (not that he enjoyed it).

Little-Ryou curled up in his protector's arms. He let out a tiny yawn and closed his eyes.

"Luv ooo."

Bakura blinked. _'What?!'_

But the tired tot's eyes were closely shut, leaving a very bewildered yami to carry the sleeping child all the way to the Kame Game Shop. Ryou had faintly started to stir when they reached the middle of Domino City. By the time Bakura was knocking on the game shop door, the hikari was fully awake, and had migrated to hanging onto Bakura's shoulders.

The shop's door opened, revealing the two tomb keepers already waiting background. Meanwhile, a very bouncy head of multicolored hair greeted the duo.

"Hello Ryou, Bakura! Malik and Marik are already here; they told me that you had something to ask... about..." Yugi's chirpy voice faded as he stared at the mini-Ryou clinging to Bakura's back. He paused, threw back his head, and positively _roared_ towards the upstairs level: _"_ _ **YA-MI!**_ _"_

Little Ryou's eyes grew wider than Yugi's, and the toddler buried his face in Bakura's shoulder.

Marik was somewhat confused (he still had some trouble remembering that 'Yami' actually meant 'The Pharaoh'- and not himself or Bakura).

Malik was staring blankly- he had no idea Yugi could yell like that. _Hell_ , he didn't know Yugi could actually get that steamed!

And Bakura was just trying to figure out what the bloody devil was happening, when there was a sound from above.

There was a swift hammering of footsteps down the stairs, and Yami rushed to Yugi's side.

"Aibou! Are you alright?! What's going... on..." Two vivid, magenta eyes slowly drifted over the group; but they stopped once they reached chibi-Ryou. He was still piggy-backing on Bakura's shoulders, and only gave Yami a cursory glance.

The former pharaoh gulped heavily before slowly stepping backwards. "I, uh, believe I left the oven on-"

"You don't know _how_ to work the oven, Yami." Yugi's voice was surprisingly frosty. He frowned at his (now very nervous) boyfriend and folded his small arms across his chest. _"Well?_ _"_

"Er... um... it was a mistake?"

Bakura's face began heating up with fury. " _What the_ \- this is _ **your**_ _fault_?! You Ra-damned pharaoh! I'm gonna take your fu- *mtpth!*"

Malik's tanned palm was now positioned over the angry yami's mouth, blocking his threats.

"Language, Bakura! Sheesh, seriously; how many times do we have to go over this?" The blonde shook his head before turning to the taller Game King. "So, Yami; _do_ you know what happened to Ishizu's book? Yugi said you were asking about her personal library collection last week."

The past ruler seemed slightly embarrassed, and his face tinged as he replied.

"Yes... I, erm, 'borrowed' the book so I could use it."

Everyone (save perhaps the tiny boy on Bakura's back) stared as they waited for Yami's explanation.

The ancient ruler seemed strangely abashed. "I... was trying to perform a spell."

"Yeah, it worked." Malik responded dryly.

Marik gave the enchanted Ryou a brief glance before naively commenting. "Congrats, it's a boy!"

Yugi frowned in disbelief. "But Yami, why on Earth did you use a spell to turn Ryou into a baby?!"

To his credit, the ancient game master did seem very upset. "I didn't _mean_ for it to affect Ryou! I don't understand..."

"Well then _w_ _ho_ did you mean to use it on? _Me_?" Yugi stared in disbelief.

"Erm, no." The former spirit looked away, clearly embarrassed. "It was meant for... *mumble*."

Yugi sighed. "Louder, Yami."

Yami let out a huff of indignity and reluctantly spoke up. "It was meant for- me. I was trying to make myself younger."

Yugi gasped. "Yami, that's really dangerous! Why would you do such a thing?!"

The Pharaoh seemed a little dejected. "Sometimes it bothers me... how I'm over 3,000 years old, and you're still a teenager." He sighed. "I love you, Yugi, but I can't help but wonder if it's a little wrong..."

"Yeah, it is pretty creepy when you think about it." Malik casually remarked, earning him mirrored glares from the rainbow-haired duo. "What?!"

"Yami, you were sealed in an inescapable void for thousands of years- I highly doubt that counts as normal 'aging.'" Yugi gave an exasperated smile. "Besides, you're definitely less mature than Ryou or I- didn't you nearly blow up the television yesterday?"

The pharaoh frowned in protest. "The TV said he was going to take over the world, aibou! He looked serious!"

"That was just a children's show, Yami. It's all pretend, remember?"

"But he seemed serious when the hotel prank explod-"

Yugi quickly interrupted his partner. " _Anyway_ , I think you're perfect just the way you are." Yugi gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to emphasize his feelings. "So please, don't do anything dangerous?"

The former ruler grinned and returned the favor with a kiss to his little one's nose. "As you wish, Aibou."

The Thief King snorted before pointedly clearing his throat. "Eh-hem! This is all very cuddly-cutesy-nauseating; but I think you're missing the point here: Ryou's a toddler, and I think we'd all prefer him to be his real age again, am I correct?" Bakura scowled as the two game shopkeepers broke apart.

Malik suddenly gasped and clapped his hands together. "Oooh! Oooh! Wait! I just had an idea- why don't you turn Bakura into a baby?! He might be cute, and then we could control him!"

Malik gave the thief a smug look, as if to remind the thief that he couldn't swear.

Bakura flipped him the bird instead.

"Hey!"

The former Pharaoh nodded, clearly amused. "That's not a bad idea," Bakura used his favorite finger yet again, "-but perhaps we should handle Ryou's situation first." He stepped towards the toddler. "Let me look at him."

The former spirit of the Millennium puzzle stepped up to the Thief King's shoulder. He stared right at the child's eyes and smiled.

"Hello, small one."

But Ryou started trembling. He didn't know why, but for some reason seeing that man made him really scared. It reminded him of the time he fell down the front steps- it hurt.

Yami seemed oblivious to Ryou's distress.

Bakura, on the other hand, wasn't pleased. "Pharaoh. You're scaring the kid. Piss off."

Yami was rather annoyed that the Thief King presumed to be better at child-care than him. But Yugi sensed the tension, and gently pulled his partner aside. "Here, Yami; let me try first- he's known me longer." The short teen looked upwards at the small child in Bakura's charge.

Yugi gave his gentlest smile. He spoke very softly. "Hello, Ryou- my name is Yugi. Do you remember me? We sometimes played cards together."

There was something familiar about those amethyst eyes... they made mini-Ryou feel warm, like he wasn't alone.

Ryou reached out to the nice boy and hugged his arm.

"-Oogey."

Apparently 'oogey' translated to 'Yugi.'

The rainbow-haired hikari gladly held the other light while the remaining Egyptians worked to figure out the counter-spell. The six duelists gathered in Yugi's room, where the once-ruler had hidden the spell-book. Yami carefully brought out the large tome from its hiding place under their bed, and placed it on top of the mattress. It did not take the group long to locate the spell that Yami had used, and the (mercifully) simple steps for reversal.

Yugi and Marik kept young Ryou entertained, while Malik, Bakura, and the Pharaoh brought together the few ingredients needed for the spell. It was fortunate that Yugi's grandfather was a stickler for good cooking, and insisted on a well-stocked spice rack.

Bakura looked over the ancient ingredients list, remarking aloud which plants were needed. "Alright... comfrey... chamomile... nettle... along with some celandine and fennel."

"Ishizu gave me a bag of some of her more basic 'supplies'- I think we should have everything we can't find in the kitchen in here." Malik quickly lifted a large sack onto the bed. Inside were countless tiny containers, marked with the names of the herbs and minerals within each one.

It didn't take the much longer for the (surprisingly co-operative) group to mix the ingredients into an unappealing paste.

Yugi peered into the bowl and pulled a face. "Ryou doesn't have to eat that, does he?"

But thankfully, the greenish-orange goo only needed to be smeared across the victim's forehead. Bakura took the toddler from the fully-grown duelists, and placed him on the rug next to Yugi's bed. He then took a large glob of the repellent salve and rubbed a thick line across the minute duelist's head.

The boy blinked, before suddenly shuddering. There was a loud sound of cloth ripping, and a pale flash of a golden-tinted light briefly blinded the gang.

" _Ow_... my head... What-" Everyone blinked as they saw the light-skinned form lying on Yugi's rug. A fully-grown Ryou looked up at the crowd in confusion. "Yami? Yugi? Malik? Marik?" He turned his gaze to the side. "And yami? Bakura, what's going on? Why am I on the floor?" Ryou shifted his arms to push himself up.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Malik smirked bemusedly. "You're a little under-dressed right now."

"Eh?" The bewildered hikari looked downwards and let out a yelp. " _Why am I_ _ **naked**_ _?!_ " His face quickly turned the color of Yami's eyes.

"Here, Ryou." Yugi helpfully took the comforter off his bed and wrapped it around his friend.

The pale boy gratefully covered himself with the duvet. "Um, thank you, Yugi- but I'm still very puzzled. What happened?"

"It's a long story." Malik grinned.

"Yes, but first- _**Yami**_?" Yugi gave his partner a stern look.

Yami gulped heavily. "Right..." The proud Pharaoh bowed to the now-teenaged boy. "Ryou, I apologize for my actions- I pray you weren't harmed, and I promise that I will never repeat that spell again."

"..." The polite duelist honestly had no idea what to say, so he just went with the simplest reply. "Um, thank you? But I really don't know what everyone is referencing..."

"Oh, right! Hang on a second..." Malik quickly brought out his phone and showed Ryou the pictures he'd taken of the toddler-fied hikari.

The pale teen nearly fainted when he saw the strange images. "Wha- but that's- if you- then- eh?!"

"His royal pain-in-the-ass over here-" Bakura jerked a thumb at the Pharaoh- "was trying to make himself younger for his little runt. But he hit you instead."

By this point Yami was starting to sound rather troubled. "But- it doesn't make sense!"

Ryou tilted his head thoughtfully. "But maybe it does... Yugi, I was over here a few days ago, wasn't I?"

The shortest teen nodded. "Yep, you were helping me hang up my newest 'Duel Monsters' poster."

Ryou nodded. "The poster was in a frame, and when I was looking at the back I got a small lock of hair caught on the nail, remember? And I couldn't get it free?"

Yugi winced and nodded. "And it looked like it hurt!"

Ryou seemed pensive. "We couldn't get it all untangled, so you ended up trimming most of the strands." He turned to look at the former Pharaoh. "My guess is that one or more of those hairs somehow ended up in the concoction that Yami was making-?"

Yugi gasped. "Oh, I see! And then the spell went after you instead!"

Yami still looked distressed. "Yes, but that still doesn't explain _why_ \- I did sacrifice a portion of my own body!"

Bakura snorted. "Your hair looks just as ridiculous as always- what the hell did you add?"

"I clipped my nails and added the trimmings to the potion."

The ancient thief blanched. "...you tried to summon the dark powers of the Shadow Realm, and the only thing you gave up was your _fingernail_ clippings?"

"Well I certainly wasn't going to cut my hair!" The past ruler sounded appalled.

Yugi sighed. "So _that's_ what happened- Ryou's hair was more powerful than your, erm, contributions."

Malik shook his head up and down. "Yeah, Ishizu always says that magic is strongest when it affects the heart and the mind. So Ryou's hair (which is closer to both) was probably more potent that your fingernails."

But Yami was barely listening. Instead, the troubled Pharaoh carefully pulled the palest hikari aside and gave another bow. "I really do apologize- it was not my intention to cause you any sort of grief."

"No, that's alright- you were just trying to make Yugi happy, right?" Ryou beamed. "There's no harm done, really."

But Bakura seemed to disagree. Ryou flushed as he felt a larger arm wrap around his chest and guide him backwards.

Bakura snarled at the other Ancient Egyptian. " _Keep away from my hikari, you moronic magician!_ "

The past Pharaoh glared angrily at his nemesis. "I am no magician!"

The thief smirked mockingly. "My mistake; that fact has been made very clear."

Yami gaped as he realized that he had, indeed, walked right into that one.

Sensing trouble, Yugi quickly distracted them with the reason for the gathering. "So, is Ryou alright? He won't change back?"

Two crimson eyes widened in terror, but only for an instant. No one noticed.

Malik seemed completely unconcerned. "He should be fine- the book doesn't say anything about lasting effects or consequences. And even if something happens, we have Ishizu's book with the cure, right?"

While the other duelists began reassuring each other and chatting casually, the thief hung back, an uneasy frown crossing his face.

Hours later, Ryou Bakura was sleeping softly in his own bed. The yet-again teenager easily fell into a light slumber in his quiet room. But the hikari's hickory-hued eyes fluttered open when an audible disturbance broke the stillness. A thin figure with brilliant white hair was trying to stealthily make his way around the piles of textbooks on Ryou's floor.

"Nngh... Bakura?" The other boy yawned and rubbed his eyes. "It's really early- what are you doing in my room?"

The thief froze- "I'm... looking for stuff. Stuff to steal." He drew himself up and crossed his arms. "I **am** still the Thief King, you fool."

But Ryou raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Bakura, you're been in my bedroom plenty of times- you know there's nothing worth stealing (at least, to _you_ ) in here."

Bakura paused, not sure how to deflect that logic.

"Wait..." Ryou's face suddenly turned a tad mischievous, and the ancient plunderer felt a sense of foreboding. "You were checking up on me, weren't you?" He pointed teasingly at his yami. "You were afraid that I might change back!"

" _NO!_ " The thief replied a little too quickly. "I just- I just wanted to... mess with your stuff! And blame it on the two blonde jack*sses!"

The pale hikari wasn't fooled. "Hmm, if you say so... well, g'morning, 'Kura."

Bakura snorted- "Yeah, whatev- wait- what did you just say?"

This time it was Ryou's turn to fluster. "Um, g'morning?" His face was growing steadily warmer.

The tomb robber's face broke out into a knowing smirk. "Oh no, dear hikari; I think you remembered something from your 'second childhood' there.

"Um, no?"

Bakura gave a disdainful snort. "Sure, whatever." The former spirit turned away. The yami had almost reached the door when he heard a rather subdued question from behind him.

"Do you mind it?"

He turned to see his hikari looking downwards at the bedsheets. His face was mostly hidden by his long, pure bangs, but Bakura thought he saw a tint of warm pink.

"T-the nickname, I mean."

The fair-haired yami felt his own face warm slightly. "No... you can use it... if you like." He paused for a second before growling out an addendum. "But if you ever call me that around those two blonde morons..."

Ryou smiled as his yami swiftly stepped out of the room. His gaze drifted over to his nightstand, where the picture Malik had taken of the group at KaibaLand last summer still stood. Ryou had been leaning against his yami, gently teasing his darker half. Bakura, meanwhile, had a surprisingly sincere smile on his face, and was pushing back against his light with equally playful force.

Ryou's grin widened as he laid his head back down on the blue bed pillow.

'And yet, something tells me they already know...'


End file.
